by Joy Wild
“Out, Mark. You can ogle each other later,” Stephanie laughed. Autumn watched Mark turn red and quickly leave the room. She smiled. I would love to wake up gazing in those eyes every day.
“Oh girl, you got it bad,” Steph winked at her. “Let’s get you dressed.”
“Steph, come with us. I believe you are in trouble too. Anyone who knows me is in danger right now.”
“I’m sure I’m okay. No one would be interested in me,” Steph said. “Let’s get you in a wheelchair. No pressure on that ankle. Soft-tissue injuries are a bitch.”
Steph wheeled her out the door to the waiting group.
“Mark, make Stephanie go with us. She is in danger too. I feel it.”
“She’s going with us,” Caleb stepped up.
“Who the hell are you to tell me what I’m going to do?” Steph glared at Caleb.
“For once, woman, shut up and listen. We will explain everything at the house. We can’t talk here,” Caleb growled.
“Steph, please, please come with us. I know you are stubborn and hard-headed, but you are my best friend. I need you,” Spring said, touching Steph’s arm.
“Okay, fine. Since YOU asked so nicely,” she told Spring.
“Thank you,” Spring sighed.
“Let’s go,” Mark said.
They all walked outside together and stopped in shock. Everyone’s vehicles were at the door. Mark’s SUV was there with a brand new car seat installed. Mark’s cell phone rang.
“Owens.” He said, hitting speakerphone.
“Don’t stand there gawking. Get your asses moving.” The phone went dead.
“Gene said to get moving. So follow me. I have the gate code. I’ll text it to you guys too.”
“Got it,” Sam said. He and Summer headed for his truck, while Steve, Spring, and Lizzie headed for Steve’s truck.
“Come on Steph, please,” Caleb almost begged her. “Ride with me.”
“Fine,” Steph said. She turned to go to Caleb’s truck. Autumn almost laughed, but Mark pushed her toward his SUV, while still holding Abby.
“Let me put Abby in first. Do not get up by yourself,” Mark warned her.
“Yes, sir,” Autumn saluted him.
Mark leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I want to hear that later when we are in bed together.”
Autumn turned several shades of red and squirmed in the wheelchair. Mark laughed and opened the back passenger door to set Abby in her new car seat. He then turned and picked Autumn up without a warning. She squealed.
“That’s what I want to hear. You, squealing for me.” He winked. He set her in the front passenger seat and buckled her in. He gave her a quick kiss.
Autumn watched Mark thank the attendant for taking the wheelchair back and then turn to buckle Abby in her seat. Abby was still sound asleep. He got in the truck and they headed back to her prison. She rested her head on the back of the seat, watching out the passenger window. It was dark outside, but Autumn had no idea what day it was anymore. It was still stormy, so she figured the hurricane was still wreaking havoc. Her thoughts turned to Ms. Lela. Autumn was relieved that Abby was okay, but she felt horrible losing Lela. Lela had been her babysitter for so long. All of a sudden, Autumn felt lost and alone. She wanted to quit, to give up, but she couldn’t. Abby needed her.
“Hang on, Autumn. We will protect you and Abby,” Mark broke into her thoughts.
“You can’t forever,” she said, not looking at him.
“Look at me Autumn, now,” Mark said firmly.
Autumn slowly turned and peered at Mark. She didn’t even try to hide the tears.
“Autumn, me and the guys will protect you forever. I will not leave you or Abby,” Mark assured her.
“You can’t. You have a life. I have a life. Well, maybe not, but I want Abby to have a life. Safe from crazy people.”
Mark took Autumn’s hand. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Autumn closed her eyes and tried to rest.
It seemed like only five minutes later that Mark was waking her up.
“Honey, wake up. We’re home.”
“Mmmm, home,” she murmured.
She felt the seatbelt being removed from her, but she couldn’t seem to open her eyes.
“Get her in, I’ve got Abby,” she heard Steve say.
“Abby,” she said, opening her eyes.
“It’s okay, baby, Steve is carrying her in the house,” Mark said, picking her up.
“I can walk,” she mumbled.
“I know, but I would rather carry you,” he said, kissing her forehead.
She smiled and put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
21
The guys were gathering in the living room to make plans on how to protect the girls.
“Spring and Lizzie are sound asleep,” Steve said, as he came in.
“Summer’s out too,” Sam said.
“Autumn and Abby are dead to the world right now,” Mark said.
“Don’t ask me about Stephanie,” Caleb glared.
“You guys need to get together already,” Steve said. “The chemistry is there.”
“Tell her that. I’m trying,” Caleb said. “But I’m not going to keep it up.”
“Don’t give up on her, man. She’s tough, but according to Spring, when she finally gives in, she will have been worth the wait,” Steve said.
“I hope so, but man I can’t wait forever,” Caleb said. “I’m in love with her, but if she doesn’t feel the same then there is no point in continuing.”
“Keep trying, she’ll come around,” Mark said, he saw Stephanie in the hall. He knew she had heard the conversation. She stared right at him and turned away, disappearing down the hall.
“Maybe,” Caleb said.
“Let’s figure out how to deal with Blake. We need to get rid of this asshole before he gets to Autumn,” Mark said.
“The only way to get him is to get him to come after her,” Steve said.
“We have to find another way,” Mark said, “she is suffering enough. He has been abusing her for years and she hid it. He is now willing to be blatant about it.”
“Mark, we all know what’s been going on. But we also know that he is in over his head with Diego,” Sam added in.
“He’s desperate. He will come after her,” Caleb said.
“Then we need to be ready,” Mark said. “We have no choice.”
After three hours of throwing ideas around, the guys were still nowhere. They decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning. After they said good night, Mark headed in to check on Autumn and Abby. He quietly opened the door and saw that the girls were snuggled together, but Autumn was restless. Taking a chance, Mark slipped off his boots and shirt and slipped into the bed with Autumn and Abby. Autumn was holding Abby, so Mark slid in behind her and pulled them into him. Autumn immediately calmed down.
Mark laid there for a while, holding Autumn. He couldn’t help but remember back to his marriage with Renee. Renee hated to snuggle. She loved the sex, but that was it. He wanted a woman that he could just hold sometimes. Times when he came home from a bad day and needed a hug. At the same time, he wanted a woman that was full of passion. It suddenly hit him, he knew he wanted Autumn. She was fire and ice both. Her auburn hair and her green eyes sucked him in. He was older than her and he didn’t know how she would feel about that. He needed to tell her how he felt. Tomorrow he would tell her, he vowed to himself.
Mark had trouble sleeping. He was trying to come up with a plan, but nothing made sense. They didn’t even know where Blake was hiding. The sun was beginning to shine and Abby began moving around. She raised up and saw Mark snuggled up with them and she squealed. In about two seconds she was bouncing up and down on both Autumn and him.
“Whoa, love bug,” he said.
“You should be my daddy. You are more fun,” Abby giggled.
“Abby, stop,” Autumn moaned.
“I’m hungry, Mommy, can I go to
the kitchen?”
“Yes, baby, but do not go outside at all,” Autumn said.
“I won’t!” Abby said as she bounced off the bed and out the door.
“Ugh,” Autumn moaned.
“I agree,” Mark laughed.
Autumn reached up and ran her hand along Mark’s cheek. He knew he hadn’t shaved and was starting to sport a beard. He caught her hand and turned and kissed it. He heard Autumn moan and he leaned over, slowly kissing her. He didn’t want to scare her, but he wanted her.
He broke the kiss and stared into her emerald green eyes.
“I want you, Autumn.”
“I want you too,” she replied, without hesitation.
“Are you sure? I do not want to take advantage of you,” Mark asked her.
“I’m positive. Please, Mark,” she begged.
“You have to say it, Autumn. Please what?”
“Make love to me. Now,” she demanded.
“Yes, ma’am, but you forgot that you do what I say,” Mark said as he smiled down at her.
Mark rolled on top of Autumn, pinning her down. He stared into her sexy green eyes and slowly leaned down and kissed her. She responded immediately, taking what she wanted as well. The kiss was passionate, their tongues dueled. He loved the fact that Autumn was as aroused as he was. He could feel the heat from her body. He slowly slid his hands under her shirt, gently gliding it up. He wanted to give her every opportunity to stop him if she wanted to. His hand reached her breast and she moaned in his mouth which caused his cock to harden even more. He rolled them over so that Autumn was on top of him without ever breaking the kiss. Finally, Autumn broke the kiss and raised up. Before Mark could say anything she pulled her shirt off and his mouth watered at the sight of her breasts. He also saw the bruises on her side and growled. He saw Autumn pale and reach for her shirt. He grabbed her wrists to stop her.
“Please don’t cover up,” he told her.
“I shouldn’t be doing this, Mark. Blake will kill you and all of us if necessary. If I ever try to date anyone, he puts a stop to it. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Autumn, look at me,” he said. He waited for her to look at him. “I am not afraid of Blake, Diego, or anyone else. I am afraid that you don’t feel for me, what I feel for you.”
“Oh, Mark. I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. But I know what my life is and what it will always be. I live in fear and probably always will. I don’t want you to be stuck with someone like me. Stuck with a child that isn’t yours.”
“First of all, I am not stuck with anyone. I want you. I want Abby. And for the record, I fell in love with you when I saw you too. You have a tendency to disappear on me. Right now, I want to make love to you, to show you how I feel. If you will let me.”
Autumn leaned down and kissed Mark. He slid his hands up her bare chest until he reached his goal. Her breasts were firm, and he couldn’t wait to put his mouth on them. After breaking the kiss, he raised up, his mouth going to her breast. As he sucked and nipped the one breast, his hand played with the other, rubbing and pinching. Autumn was moaning and squirming on top of him, and his cock couldn’t take anymore.
He took hold of Autumn and rolled them again so that she was lying on her back. He switched to the other breast. He felt Autumn’s hands go around his head and pull his head even tighter to her. While he enjoyed tasting her breasts, he wanted to be somewhere else at that moment. He scooted down her and while gazing in her eyes, he began removing her shorts. She lifted her hips for him to pull them down. As soon as they were off, Mark began kissing her leg, moving slowly up to the one place he wanted to be. He pushed her legs apart and quickly made his way to her core. She was so hot and wet. When his mouth touched her, he thought he had reached heaven. Autumn moaned and Mark went to work to make sure she knew how important she was to him. He sucked her clit and he could tell she was about to come. He looked up into her eyes and watched as he sent her over the edge. Her body convulsed in pleasure. He licked every drop of her juices up before raising up. He made his way up to kiss her. Not thinking about protection or anything else, his cock knew exactly where it wanted to be. He slowly slid into her, and he wasn’t sure if she groaned or he groaned, or maybe both did, but the pleasure he felt was amazing. He didn’t waste any more time. He couldn’t wait, he pumped in and out, and he felt his balls tighten and his eyes rolled back as he went over the cliff. He knew Autumn went over with him. As they came back to reality, Mark rolled to his side, pulling Autumn with him. She wrapped her arm around him and they laid there for a little while in silence.
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Mmmmm. I’m good.”
“Just good?”
“Amazing, wonderful, happy. Is that better?”
“Much,” he said. “As much as I don’t want to get up, we have to.”
“I know. Shower first?”
“Definitely. Come on. It’ll be faster if we shower together,” Mark said, pulling her up.
“I seriously doubt that.” Autumn laughed.
Mark tugged her hand, pulling her to the shower. He turned on the water to let it heat up while Autumn got towels out. When the water was the right temp, Mark stepped into the water and held out his hand for Autumn. He pulled her into the shower, which was big enough for several people.
“You go first,” Autumn said, stepping back.
“Oh, I plan on going first,” he yanked her back into him and she yelped in surprise. He grabbed the body wash and lathered up a shower poof. He began washing her body, which led to a whole new round of sex. He dropped the poof thing and his fingers found her clit and he could feel how wet she was again. He slid his fingers in and out until she exploded for him. Her knees buckled and he caught her as she started going down. She was looking up at him and her hand went around his cock and he almost shot off with only her touch. When she put her lips around him, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. For a brief moment, his mind went back to Renee and how she would at no time have done anything like this. He stared down at the gorgeous woman looking up at him as she sucked and licked him and realized how happy he was right now.
“Baby, I’m about to blow,” Mark told her and started to pull back. She wrapped her arms around his ass and sucked harder. His eyes rolled back, and he saw stars as he exploded. It took a minute for Mark to clear his mind. He stared at Autumn as she slowly rose from the shower floor.
“Wow, baby, if showering with you is like this all the time, we will not ever leave the shower,” Mark said.
“Mmmmm. That was fun, but we have to get out of here,” she smiled.
They washed quickly and Autumn turned off the water. Mark took a towel and gently dried her hair and then wrapped the towel around her. Then he grabbed the other towel and dried himself off quickly. They headed into the bedroom to get clothes. As they stepped into the bedroom they both saw Abby sitting on the bed.
“Crap,” Autumn said and grabbed her towel.
“Shit,” Mark said as he grabbed his towel.
“You said a bad word, Dad,” Abby said.
“Uh,” Mark was at a loss for words.
“He’s sorry for saying a bad word, Abby. What are you doing in here?” Autumn stepped in.
“You were sleeping forever. It’s time to get up, but I heard you taking a shower, so I wanted to wait for you.”
“Well, go downstairs, and I will be down in a minute okay?” Autumn said.
“Okay, Mommy,” Abby said and bounded out of the room.
“Oops,” Mark said.
“Yea, that wasn’t good. I’m sure she will forget. She has a short memory.”
“Let’s hope,” Mark said. He saw Autumn frowning. “What, baby?”
“Nothing,” Autumn said and began getting dressed.
“Uh-huh. Do not do that. Be honest with me, no matter what.”
“Are you sorry?” Autumn asked. She was staring at the wall, but he could hear the tears in her voice.
“L
ook at me, Autumn. Now.”
When she finally looked at him, he said, “I am not sorry. Not one little bit. And before you start thinking that you are only a job to me, you aren’t. I am in love with you. You are my fire and my soul.”
Tears were running down her face, “How can you love me? You don’t know me.”
“I know enough, Autumn. When Spring was missing, you were there for us. When Summer needed friends, you were there. Now, it’s our turn to be here for you. I intend to protect you and stop this nightmare. Let’s get some breakfast and figure this out.”
Autumn put her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
They finished dressing and he took her hand. Together, hand in hand, they walked to the kitchen. Ready to face the world.
22
“Well, it’s about time you two joined us,” Steve joked.
“Enjoy your shower?” Sam asked.
“Of course, they did, see the glow?” Caleb joined in.
Autumn felt her cheeks burning red and she glanced at Mark, who appeared to be the same shade of red she felt like she was. His hand tightened its hold on hers.
“Knock it off, assholes,” Mark said.
“What’s the matter? Can’t take it?” Steve asked.
“Dude, I’m about to lose my cool and that ain’t gonna be cool with Abby here,” Mark snarled.
“Chill, Mark,” Sam said. “Everyone’s picking on you. Autumn, I’m sorry. We can be dicks sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Autumn asked.
“Okay, a lot of times,” Sam admitted. The doorbell rang saving them from the rest of the conversation.
“Mark!” one of the housekeepers yelled.
Mark and Sam headed for the door; Steve pulled Autumn back.
“Let me go, Steve,” she begged.
